March is Social Work Month, and we want to celebrate the current and future social workers who support our students. Social workers play a critical role in the child welfare system and are often an important part of our scholars’ lives.  

In 2010, Pivotal created an internship program to help new social workers-in-training learn about the nuances of working with foster youth. We train undergraduate and graduate students in social work programs to be Pivotal coaches, working with universities like San José State, California State East Bay, San Francisco State, and UC Berkeley. 

"At Pivotal, I learned not just about the foster care system and the experiences of foster youth, but what it really looks like to collaborate, advocate, and build relationships with the youth I work with," says Hyeonsook Kim, a first-year MSW student at UC Berkeley and 2025 social work intern coach at Pivotal, "Pivotal's training program, supervision, and the youth themselves have shown me the growth and change that is possible when our work is truly youth-centered and strengths-based in both theory and practice. I feel very fortunate to have been able to learn this past year from my supervisor Savonna, field instructor Sierra, mentor Sarah, the other intern coaches, and of course, all of my scholars."

Social work intern coach Lena Strickling hopes to eventually become a pediatric hospital social worker. She was excited to work with Pivotal in 2024 as part of her MSW program at San José State University because it gave her the opportunity to work with scholars at different stages in their education. “I’ve worked with foster youth for the last three years, but primarily with younger children,” said Lena. “This has been a really great opportunity to work with people with a wide range of ages and experience in the foster care system. The training and group supervision we receive at Pivotal really helped me feel confident in doing the work.” 

Like all Pivotal coaches, intern coaches offer trauma-informed support and guidance to help their students identify goals and build a path to educational and career success. Our scholars consistently highlight the positive impact of having a university student as their coach as they can provide near-peer experience and be role models for what our scholars may want to do in the future.  

Intern coaches have been a vital part of Pivotal’s programs for 15 years. Collaboration with these and other Bay Area schools of social work remains integral to the success of the internship program. Intern coaches receive intensive training at the beginning of the academic year and weekly training and supervision. This high-quality training is fundamental to supporting our scholars effectively and understanding the impact of trauma and the barriers they may be dealing with outside school.   

The theme of Social Work Month 2025 is Compassion + Action, and we hope that Pivotal’s supportive environment and comprehensive training allows our social work intern coaches to gain valuable skills and experiences while bringing their own diverse skillsets to the work. Many former interns have gone on to have fulfilling careers in public child welfare, schools, and mental health agencies. And some choose to stay at Pivotal where they can continue to advocate for educational equity for foster youth and to empower them to become self-reliant and independent young adults.